Don’t let trials, circumstances, or people stop you from praying to God!

God is never ignorant to your plight because He knows that the fight and ultimate victory belongs to Him. We find confirmation of this wonderful truth in 2 Chronicles 20:13-15 when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel. He said this to all the people of Judah, Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat, “Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

God’s prayer line is always open, you will never be placed on hold, and you don’t need Wi-Fi or cellular data to get connected. I John 5:14 put it this way, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

To those who are wondering why I included frenemies and enemies….well Jesus said so in Matthew 5:44, “Pray for those who persecute you” and Paul followed Jesus’ lead in Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.”

PRAY…..PRAY….PRAY….PRAY!!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#PrayerIsOurWeaponToWin

The devil (aka the enemy) is vicious, but he’s not victorious. And we have everything we need in Jesus to defeat him.

Unfortunately, this bogeyman is real and I Peter 5:8 reminds us that, “he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.“ However, the good news is that we don’t have to lie shaking in our beds with a death grip on the covers, feeling powerless and deathly afraid.

The moment we tap into the power of God’s Word, the enemy is rendered poweerless. Yes, truth is the only perfect protection against our enemy and as we draw closer to the end of this age, it’s critically important to remember this. Receive this. Use this. Practice this. Live this.

Friends, in Christ we are not defenseless. God’s promises are always a perfect match for our problems. And as I mentioned above, our problem-instigator, the devil — the one Scripture says roams around like a lion — is no match for God’s power or His promises. God’s promises don’t tame the lion; they shame the lion back to hell. They shut the lion’s mouth! God’s promises turns his camouflaging roars into a kitty cat whimper. Not to mention, they make him retreat when we choose to live and believe in God’s Word! Without fail; God will always guide us, equip us and infuse us with holy confidence when we chose to stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Declare it with me today friend: The devil is no match for God’s power nor His promises!!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#VictoriousInChrist

I invite you to chew on these three biblical truths today. I also ask that you apply these passages of encouragement to your NOW situation. Something supernatural happens when we apply scripture to our lives; we move from simply having head knowledge towards also having heart knowledge of God’s word.

James 1:22 in the NLT version reads, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

Declaring God’s word helps to align our hearts with God’s will. Remember, when Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, He spoke God’s word and put Satan in his place. Speaking God’s word has the power to help us through temptations and trials. The Bible isn’t just a book of nice sayings and inspirational stories. It’s a book that contains life changing power. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equippedi for every good work.”

Friends, God has filled us with His Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17) who speaks to us, leading and guiding us into all truth (John 16:13). For this reason, Paul instructs believers to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), for He is a very present Help in our time of need (Psalm 46:1)! The Holy Spirit will ALWAYS faithfully guide us into the will of God, always causing us to do what is right (Ezekiel 36:26-28; Philippians 2:13).

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#HeartKnowledge

I love the way the AMP version emphasizes Isaiah 26:3; “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].”

You see, it’s easy to be committed and focused on Jesus when things are going good, but for some of us (including myself) when our lives are unexpectedly turned upside down our focus will immediately shift to the problem rather than the Problem Solver.

God never said take refuge in our problems or people, rather He calls us to turn those things over to Him by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving (Phil 4:6-7) and to fully take refuge in Him (Psalm 46:1).

The word “refuge” is defined as a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. In other words, taking refuge in God means that we can find complete safety in Him because He is our shield from danger and trouble. He is the only One that can truly provide us with shelter in the midst of our life threatening storms.

Friends, trusting in God means to take refuge in Him. It also means that we must place all of our hope and confidence in knowing that He will always navigate us through life’s most vicious and turbulent waters!

Edward Bickersteth, Jr. penned these words in his hymn entitled; Peace, Perfect Peace (excerpt):

“Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.

Peace, perfect peace, ’mid suffering’s sharpest throes?
The sympathy of Jesus breathes repose….”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#PeacePerfectPeace

When God created you, He placed seeds of greatness in you. Part of the reason that many of us don’t realize that we carry seeds of greatness is because so many negative things happen to us. However, God’s plans and purposes (seeds of greatness) require the right action to germinate them into action.

With that said, sometimes when you feel like you are in a dark place you think you have been buried, but actually you have been planted!

I Peter 2:9 reminds us that, “We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Still don’t believe God planted seeds of greatness in you?!

Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

God placed seeds of greatness in Jeremiah even before he was born and God knew the potential in Jeremiah to become the man God created him to be.

The words God spoke to Jeremiah germinated and brought the seeds of greatness in Jeremiah to life and into action.

Think about it…. if God did this for Jeremiah; He will also do the same for you and me! What is so amazing about the seeds of greatness in us is that they are not dependent on our past, on genealogy nor on other people’s opinion of us, but they are solely based on God’s plans and purpose for us, individually.

With God by our side, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Nothing is impossible with God and God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20).

Bottom line, God has destined us for greatness. We were born to stand out not to fit in; in our gifting, in our purpose, and in our destiny!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#PlantedByGod

Let’s face it we all fall short of being 100% trustworthy.

It’s a good thing Scripture never says to fully trust in man or we would be in a world of trouble. The Bible says to love others as yourself, put others before yourself, serve one another, but put your full trust in God.

Fact is, God never lies, He never slanders, He never makes fun of us, He understands all our pain, He promises to always be there, and faithfulness and loyalty is a part of His character. Malachi 3:6 put it this way, “I am the LORD, and I do not change!”

I get it, we all want something, or someone, we can count on that is a constant or unchanging. We long for something, or someone, that we can trust for stability and that steadfastness that holds us like an anchor. But the reality is there is only One that can actually meet and exceed these expectations or desires and He is closer than any brother (Proverbs 18:24). His name is Jesus and He is just, faithful, loving and we can always count on Him to be the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8).

We can take heart and have confidence in Jesus. Unlike our own wealth or earthly leaders which will disappoint and constantly change, Jesus is the one steadfast and unchanging anchor who can hold our lives together.

So let us take confidence in him. Let us cling to him. We can trust him. We can count on Him each and every day.

If this message blessed you today, please share it with someone and remember your greatest blessing is always in front of you and never behind you, so be blessed on purpose and be strong!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#PutYourTrustInJesus

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 reminds us to, “Consider what God has done: Who can straighten
what He has made crooked?
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.”

In this passage of text, the English word consider was translated from the Hebrew word sekal (sek-al’) which means to contemplate. So effectively, Solomon’s wisdom nugget is encouraging us to meditate or to look thoughtfully with continued attention to the fact that we cannot arrange events according to our wishes or expectations; therefore not only is placid (peaceful) acquiescence (consent) a necessary duty, but the wise man and woman will never forget that on their best days they still need God as desperately as they did on their worst days!

I pray the word of encouragement reaches you in good spirits because even if things are bad for you right now, God is still working to bring out the good for His glory and your sanity!

If this message blessed you today, please share it with someone and remember your greatest blessing is always in front of you and never behind you, so be blessed on purpose and be strong!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#GodStraightensWhatHeBends